European Union imposes anti-dumping duties on birch plywood from Kazakhstan and Turkey

Morag, 15 May, 2024 – The European Union announced the imposition of anti-dumping duties on Kazakhstan and Turkey of 15.8% birch plywood entering the European Union from these countries. Link to decision here. The decision is the result of an EU investigation launched on 22 August 2023 investigating the illegal smuggling of Russian plywood through these countries, which was initiated by the Woodstock consortium, founded among others by Paged, a Polish plywood producer.

Jarosław Michniuk, CEO of Paged Group companies, which as a member of the Woodstock Consortium, played a key role in initiating the EU investigation, stresses the importance of this decision in protecting the European market from unfair practices.

“This is an important step in ensuring that all companies operate on a level playing field. Thanks to this action, birch plywood from Russia, which was being shipped via Kazakhstan and Turkey to avoid customs duties, will now also be dutiable. The proceedings were against duty evasion, but the key is that the outcome of the proceedings also confirms violations of sanctions imposed on Russia and EUTR regulations. Therefore, we hope, and expect, that such illegal practices will now become the basis for action by member state authorities.” – Michniuk says.

Regulation 2024/1287, which came into force with immediate effect from 14 May 2024, also introduces the obligation to pay outstanding duties for imports carried out from 22 August 2023. The amount of outstanding duties is expected to exceed €10 million.

Even before the invasion of Ukraine, the EU had increased import duties on Russian birch plywood by 15.8% to combat dumping practices. Subsequently, evidence emerged that some sellers were avoiding duties by diverting products through third countries. Working with EU leaders and industry associations, Woodstock presented convincing evidence of duty circumvention, prompting an investigation in August 2023. The result is today’s regulation against the first two countries under investigation. Neither of these countries was previously known to be a significant exporter of this type of plywood.

According to Woodstock Consortium – The findings of the investigation will trigger joint enforcement initiatives involving national authorities and the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) to highlight potential customs fraud, non-compliance with the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) and massive evasion of sanctions.

The Paged Group stresses the need to continue to monitor the market and comply with the new regulations, which is key to protecting the interests of European producers and consumers. This new policy contributes to the fight against illegal circumvention of sanctions and strengthens the rules for legal timber trade within the EU.

We will talk more about the risks of breaking the law for companies and their managements in a special Webinar on 22 May, at 10:00 a.m., which is organised in cooperation with the Employers of Poland, the European Panel Federation, the Stowaszyszenie Producentów Płytów Drewnopochodnych w Polsce, PKO BP and the Domański, Zakrzewski, Palinka law firm. The Webinar will be conducted in Polish. Registration link here:

https://pracodawcyrp880.clickmeeting.com/ryzyko-konsekwencji-lamania-regulacji-unijnych-na-przykladzie-nielegalnego-importu-sklejki-z-rosji/register

Woodstock Consortium press release:

Woodstock Consortium Applauds EU’s Crackdown on Illegal Imports of Russian Wood Products

Basic information:

The new EU regulation on birch plywood: facts & messages.